Flightdeck Friday: The McDonnell FD/FH-1 Phantom

  Prologue It began in December, 1943 with the delivery of the 8th and 9th YP-59 Airacomets (s/n 42-108778 and 42-100779) to the Navy for investigation of bringing jets to aircraft carriers. By all accounts, one wouldn’t have been surprised if the Navy had passed on the concept based on initial impressions from these prototypes (also…

Красная Звезда в четверг (Red Star Thursday)

So, we have Flightdeck Friday and now, having taken full leave of our senses, we have determined that following the MAKS 07 series and some others, perhaps there is enough interest (and fodder) out there for a recurring feature on elements of the naval- and air forces of Russia, China and North Korea – and their surrogates (Iran…

Reflections: Smuggle’s Blues (VIII)-Convergence

Part 6 and Part 7 YV-411, airborne SE of Martinique. There is a saying in aviation that if everything seems to be going perfectly, then look out, for something really bad is about happen. These were the thoughts of the Beechcraft’s pilot as the plane was inbound to its illicit rendezvous. Cockpit lights turned so low…

MAKS 2007 – Wrap-up

  So, MAKS ’07 wrapped up Sunday and what was the final talley?   100,000 visitors daily (new records for the show), but  a mere $1.5B US in sales (mlitary and civilian).   According to Russia Today (Business) Ilyushin Finance was the biggest winner with $1B in sales, mostly stemming from sales of the mid-range Tupolev Tu-204…

Russian Citizen Tries to Buy B-52 at MAKS 2007

Yep, you read the headiline right — from Reuters: MOSCOW (Reuters) – A wealthy Russian tried to buy a U.S. B-52 bomber from a group of shocked American pilots at an air show near Moscow, a Russian newspaper reported on Friday. The unidentified Russian, wearing sunglasses and surrounded by bodyguards, approached the U.S. delegation and…

Russian Marketing at MAKS 2007: SU-35MKS Brochure

Say this about the Russians – definitely getting slicker in their marketing than their Soviet forebears… (and it’s in English too)     Techie note – have been experimenting with inserting Flash objects this weekend, so if the above just shows up as a blank check your browser settings or if you are on a network…